1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a support suitable for an image recording medium which has a surface and trimmed edges superior in water resisting property and which is capable of providing high gloss and high quality images thereon and an image recording medium made from the support.
2. Description of Related Art
Typically, a support for an image recording medium used in electrophotographic recording, heat sensitive recording, ink-jet recording, sublimation transfer recording, silver halide photographic recording, thermal development recording, etc. comprises, for example, a base paper, artificial or synthetic, a synthetic resin paper, a coated paper, a laminated paper, etc. The recent development of technology enables the image recording medium used in electrophotographic recording or ink-jet recording to provide prints of equivalent image quality with silver salt photographic prints readily.
In the case where an image recording medium is used as printing paper for posters or leaflets intended for an outdoor display or a display in water related surroundings, the image recording medium is required to have water resisting property. It is also required for the image recording medium to be resistant to water in order to prevent irreplaceable prints from casual or accidental water damages during a long-term storage. For good water resistant, it is essential for the image recording medium to have not only an enhanced water resisting surface for image formation but also enhanced water resisting cut edges.
There have been proposed in, for example, Unexamined Japanese Patent Publication Nos. 7-70984, 8-269897 and 11-81190 water resistant image recording media that are made from a support comprising base paper with high water resistant polymer coating layers on a top side (a side for image formation) and a wire side surface thereof or a support comprising base paper with a coating layer containing a water resisting additive or a water repellent additive on a top side surface.
Such the image recording media are not originally aimed at improvement of water resisting properties and, therefore, have only poor water resistance especially at cut edges and are not suitable for high quality prints.